Scott Adams' Blog

Cop Killers Versus Racists

Posted July 14th, 2016 @ 9:17am in #trump #clinton

Trump’s biggest problem in this election so far is that most racists appear to be on his side. At least it looks that way to the public. That awkward perception allowed Team Clinton to brand the Trump campaign as the racist team. Clinton’s strategy of racial politics has been effective. I recently blogged that “crooked” beats “racist” every time, meaning that unless something changes, Clinton has the persuasion advantage.

But today we see in the polls that the candidates are effectively tied. What changed?

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How Not to Buy a Chevy Truck

Posted July 13th, 2016 @ 1:37pm in #chevy #truck #bait and switch

I’ve been trying for several months to buy a Chevy Truck, for a variety of functional and recreational purposes. 

It turns out you can’t do that. Yes, I was surprised too.

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Trump’s Glide Path

Posted July 13th, 2016 @ 9:04am in #trump #clinton2016

Is it my imagination, or has Trump been relatively non-controversial lately?

Do you remember how Trump got lots of free publicity in the past year by saying approximately one outrageous and controversial thing each week, like clockwork? And do you remember how you thought his outrageous approach could never be a winning formula in the general election?

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When Persuasion Turns Deadly

Posted July 11th, 2016 @ 1:04pm in #Trump #black lives matter #police #clinton2016

Some of you watched with amusement as I endorsed Hillary Clinton for my personal safety. What you might not know is that I was completely serious. I was getting a lot of direct and indirect death threats for writing about Trump’s powers of persuasion, and I made all of that go away by endorsing Clinton. People don’t care why I am on their side. They only care that I am. 

You might have found it funny that I endorsed Clinton for my personal safety. But it was only funny by coincidence. I did it for personal safety, and apparently it is working. Where I live, in California, it is not safe to be seen as supportive of anything Trump says or does. So I fixed that.

Again, I’m completely serious about the safety issue. Writing about Trump ended my speaking career, and has already reduced my income by about 40%, as far as I can tell. But I’m in less physical danger than I was. 

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The Persuasion Diet

Posted July 11th, 2016 @ 9:19am in #fitness #diet #Trump #persuasion

Business Insider has an interesting article on how traditional dieting is becoming less popular. Now people are focusing on health and fitness, with weight management being a side benefit. That’s a big deal because dieting was always the wrong approach to health.

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Better Surrender Technique

Posted July 10th, 2016 @ 11:19am in #black lives matter #police

Everyone is talking about police violence against African-Americans, but I haven’t seen much discussion about practical solutions. In the short term, the most productive approach probably involves teaching citizens how to surrender better.

You’ve probably seen tutorials on the correct way to handle a traffic stop by police. You should put both hands on the top of the steering wheel, fingers open and outstretched, and wait for the police officer to give you permission to reach for your wallet. If you have time before the officer gets out his car, your wallet should already be out and on the dashboard so you don’t have to reach for it in a suspicious-looking way. That’s good surrender technique, and I think it would work for many situations.

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The FBI, Credibility, and Government

Posted July 7th, 2016 @ 9:19am in #Trump #Clinton

The primary goal of government is its own credibility.

That notion needs some explaining. 

Governments do many things, including building roads, providing social services, defending the homeland, and more. But no matter what the government is trying to accomplish, its macro-responsibility is to maintain its own credibility. Governments without credibility devolve into chaos. Credibility has to be job one. 

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The Crook Versus the Racist

Posted July 5th, 2016 @ 9:27am in #trump #clinton2016

Do you remember the detailed policy proposal that came out of the Clinton campaign last week?

Neither do I.

I’m not saying it didn’t happen. I’m just saying that if Clinton said something about her policies, I didn’t notice. The Clinton campaign has wisely ditched facts and reason for pure persuasion. And it is working.

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The Time I Accidentally Plunged Europe into Economic Uncertainty

Posted June 30th, 2016 @ 11:38am in #brexit #Trump #persuasion

I have to confess that I wasn’t paying attention to the Brexit issue until after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. I wondered why so many folks from England had been asking me what I thought of the persuasion angle the Brexit “Leave” side was using. I always responded that I wasn’t following the topic and had no opinion.

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Hypnotizing My Dog, Snickers

Posted June 30th, 2016 @ 8:01am in #Trump #persuasion #influence #hypnosis #pets #psychology

I often write about the importance of context. Watch how important context is to my dog, Snickers. 

And yes, humans are almost as easily influenced by context. They just don’t realize it.

If you like this video, there is no reason to believe you would also love my book and recommend it to everyone you know. And remember to check out the larger Persuasion Reading List I put together for you.